Snake Island
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4.2 • 5 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
The remarkable new novel from a rising star of Australian fiction.
'Snake Island takes you to the limits of human emotion. A vivid, consuming dive into family loyalty, violence, and the hearts broken when the two collide.' Candice Fox, bestselling author of Crimson Lake
Vernon and Penelope Moore never want to see their son Caleb again. Not after he hit his wife and ended up in gaol. A lifetime of careful parental love wiped out in a moment.
But when retired teacher Vernon hears that Caleb is being regularly visited and savagely bashed by a local criminal as the police stand by, he knows he has to act. What has his life been as a father if he turns his back on his son in his hour of desperate need? He realises with shame that he has failed Caleb. But no longer.
The father of the man bashing Caleb is head of a violent crime family. The town lives in fear of him but Vernon is determined to fix things in a civilised way, father to father. If he shows respect, he reasons, it will be reciprocated. But how wrong he is.
And what hell has he brought down on his family?
Reading like a morality tale Western but in a starkly beautiful Australian setting, Snake Island is a propulsive literary thriller written with great clarity and power. It will take you to the edge and keep you there long after the final page is turned.
'A rollicking tale of crime, corruption, and vengeance.' Mark Brandi, bestselling author of Wimmera
'Remarkable. Ben Hobson's characters are deeply flawed, deeply human and beautifully realised. Part Western, part Greek tragedy, part morality tale - yet wholly original.' Chris Hammer, bestselling author of Scrublands
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Australian author Hobson makes his U.S. debut with this bleak but powerful crime novel set in an unnamed town in rural Victoria. Vernon and Penelope Moore, a retired couple, haven't seen or talked to their only child, Caleb, since he went to prison two years earlier for attacking and nearly killing his wife. But upon hearing that Caleb has been assaulted by Brendan Cahill, a friend of Caleb's wife with anger issues and enough connections to bribe his way into the prison, Vernon reaches out to his son, and decides to see whether he can resolve things with a sit-down with Brendan's father, Ernie. Things do not go well, because of the obstinacy of both Vernon and Ernie, and due to external events, including a car accident involving a kangaroo. Meanwhile, a compromised police officer becomes involved in the dispute, as does Brendan's brother, who would rather focus on fatherhood than his family's criminal activities. Little goes right for any of them, and the violence only escalates. Hobson does a terrific job of portraying multiple broken people unable to find ways out of their unhappiness. Noir fans won't want to miss this one.
